Christian Vieri hailed Ronaldo Nazario as his best-ever teammate when asked the question in a recent interview. The answer may have surprised a few, with the pair having shared the pitch just 11 times across competitions for Serie A giants Inter Milan, bagging two joint goal contributions.

The Brazilian joined the Italian side in 1997 from Barcelona and remained there till 2002, when he decided to move to Real Madrid. Meanwhile, Vieri would play for a limited time with the Ballon d’Or winner after moving to Inter Milan in 1999.

Speaking about his best-ever teammate, Vieri told FourFourTwo:

“He’s from another planet, like a gift from God. When he was born, God said, ‘My friend, you’re going to become the best ever.’ In the history of football, there have been two or three of them. He’s touched by God – I genuinely think that.”

He added:

“He was huge, with legs like a giant. He could compete in the 100m. He was incredibly quick, which you could see with his awesome stepovers, and he had unbelievable technique. I have videos about five minutes long where he’s just nutmegging everyone in games. If he hadn’t got injured, he would have gone to such great heights. You couldn’t stop him – he was too good for everyone. I’ve never seen anyone like him.”

Overall, Ronaldo made 99 appearances across competitions for Inter Milan, bagging 59 goals and 10 assists.

When former Real Madrid star claimed Ronaldo Nazario had more quality than Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano RonaldoCristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo

Former Arsenal star Julio Baptista claimed that his ex-Real Madrid and Brazil teammate Ronaldo Nazario had more quality than Cristiano Ronaldo. Speaking in a recent interview, Baptista told FootItalia (via beIN Sports):

“What I saw from Ronaldo before his injuries was something out of this world. I never saw anyone do what he did. His quality was brutal. We need to respect his career more.”

Of course, Baptista had the chance to spend more time with Ronaldo Nazario over the aforementioned Portuguese sensation. Together, the Brazilian duo shared the pitch on 32 occasions for club and country across competitions, bagging two joint goal contributions in the process.

Cristiano Ronaldo is considered one of the greatest ever, and continues to play for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, at the age of 40. More astonishingly, he recently signed a deal with the club that will keep him there till the summer of 2027.